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The White House on Thursday (local time) stated that US President Donald Trump is "extremely frustrated" with both Russia and Ukraine over the slow progress toward ending the ongoing war and is unwilling to engage in "meetings just for the sake of meeting".
During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated the President was tired of meetings that achieve nothing and wanted results, not words, as the US acts as the primary mediator to end the four-year-long running war. "The president is extremely frustrated with both sides of this war. He's sick of meetings just for the sake of meeting. He doesn't want any more talk. He wants action. He wants this war to come to an end," Leavitt said. She further confirmed that the Trump administration remains actively involved in peace efforts, with President Trump holding talks with European leaders on Wednesday and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his team continuing direct discussions with both sides "literally as we speak". Regarding possible high-level US participation in upcoming talks this weekend, Leavitt said the decision remains "up in the air". "The United States and the Trump administration continue to be very much engaged in trying to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end. The President had a call with Europeans yesterday. His special envoy Witkoff and his team continue to talk with both sides literally as we speak. If there is a real chance of signing a peace agreement, if we feel like those meetings are worthy of someone in the United States's time this weekend, then we will send a representative. It's still up in the air whether we believe real peace can be accomplished and we can truly move the ball forward," Leavitt stated. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the US is advocating for Ukraine to pull back its forces from the Donetsk region to create a "free economic zone" in Kyiv-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, which Moscow seeks to dominate, as reported by Al Jazeera. Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine had submitted a 20-point set of counter-proposals to the US as part of ongoing discussions on security guarantees with senior American officials, emphasising that any territorial concessions would need to be approved through a national referendum. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has been facing increasing pressure from Washington to reach a peace deal with Russia, with reports suggesting that Trump wants an agreement by Christmas, Al Jazeera reported. The overall peace plan includes a 20-point framework, along with separate documents addressing security guarantees and the reconstruction of Ukraine. The full details of the revised framework, which adjusts an earlier US draft seen as favouring Russia, have not been made public. Zelenskyy indicated that the main points of disagreement remain the control of the Donetsk region in the Donbas and the future governance of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control, as reported by Al Jazeera. (ANI)
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